HOUSTON — The Tigers are already down to their final chance in the World Series because they simply can’t connect with the ball.

Give Daryl Morey credit because no matter how desperate the situation got, he never stopped swinging.

After trying fruitlessly to land a big fish in the free-agent market or by trade for the past several years — Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard — the Rockets general manager finally got his hook into James Harden.

So much of the focus on the stunning deal that was consummated Saturday night will be on Oklahoma City. That’s to be expected when an up-and-coming powerhouse that was in the NBA Finals last June unloads one of its key players. There is instant speculation about whether the Thunder will now be able to hold off a charge from the reloaded Lakers, the returning Spurs, the re-energized Clippers and all the rest in the deep Western Conference.

But no matter if the veteran Kevin Martin fits seamlessly into the picture or the rookie Jeremy Lamb explodes onto the scene or the Thunder have to wait for the handful of first and second round draft picks to bear fruit, a young OKC team with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka at the core will have its chance to shine again.

For the Rockets it was just as significant and perhaps an even more urgent move to finally become relevant again. Nobody is expecting that Harden can transform Houston into an instant contender, or even lift his new team into the playoffs this season. Yet he gives the Rockets what they have been missing since the combination of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady crumbled in a heap of broken body parts. In Harden they have a recognizable young star who is entering the prime of his career.

With Harden and Jeremy Lin now together, the Rockets will have a backcourt at least with the potential to make fans want to watch. There is still plenty of heavy lifting to be done in Houston. But the first step was to land someone with cache, who could bring a level of excitement and potentially All-Star skill. For that Morey deserves credit.

74 Comments

Lamb+ PJ3+ OKC’s development team is dangerous. I hope PJ3 can play a litle small forward until he puts some size on. He reminds me of Scottie Pippen.

Hardin on the Rockets isn’t really that great of a move to me. If they’re hoping Hardin can replace K-marts 20 ppg they’re going to have a disappointing season… but it sure as hell takes the pressure of Jeremy LIn.. He had a horrible preseason.

I wouldn’t pencil the Lakers in for a Championship yet… They need to make it to the playoffs healthy first… and they’re already banged up.

lol smfh you guys actually think this trade is better?! this James Harden! he might not be 6ft something but the dude is a beast! I can’t believe OKC management could be this stupid, let’s see how they gonna put up bench points now, idiots. OKC is gonna be worse this year, don’t know about the future but as of now they messed up bad.

Seriously, why does everyone think that OKC got the worse out of this deal??? They got KMart who should slot nicely into Harden’s position and a rook with potential. When healthy, Martin should contribute nicely in the second unit and could push for starts. Plus not to mention all the picks they accumulated. Yeah, yeah, I get that Harden is “instant offence” but is he really? What has he done on his own yet? Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, but how will he go on a team starving for a scorer? I think he’ll have a breakout season but don’t think that he’ll hit above 25pts a night.
That being said, I could be completely wrong. All I will say is that Presti is a genius and has done some very good deals over the last few years. Don’t be surprised if this one works out again!

want to try: Ibaka (PF), Perkins (C), Durant (SF), Westbrook (SG), Maynor (PG). Then they can have Sefolosha as 6th Man (SF/SG) and Martin to be subbing for KD. With Thabeet they have a genuinely good backup big to cover for either Ibaka or Perkins and Lamb gives extra depth in the backcourt (PG). It’s not a ‘Miami Heat like’ move – but it’s not a shockingly bad move the way some are making it out to be. Besides, OKC didn’t have the raw $ to keep Harden – AND Harden needed to become the starting SG he was always destined to be – Houston allows him to fulfill his dream of doing just that.

Have a guess what this is an article about Houston and Oklahoma, why do Laker fans even have an opinion. Your 0-8 in preseason, you will come about 5th in the west and get beat either by the Denver in round 1 or by San Antonio or OKC in round 2. The Lakers bench is pretty much laughable, yeah you will get a lead when your starters are on but when the benches come on you will get destroyed. OKC will still take the west KMart is a monster. I would not like to defend against that team. The Rockets may just steal that 8th spot now!

I think this was a decent trade for both teams, but OKC got the longer end of the stick. The Rockets had to trade Kevin Martin (a proven good player) and Jeremy Lamb (a rookie who would have had a chance to shine). I would have loved this move a lot more had they only given up Jeremy Lamb and then a few no-names. I don’t think Harden is really worth K-Mart, Lamb, AND draft picks. I know we also got a few no-names from OKC, but still. A court with K-Mart, Harden, and Lin would have looked a lot better than what we have now. I hope that Harden becomes more of a star here than he ever was in OKC. He and Lin will be the two go-to guys, so they will both have a chance to enter that star role that they perhaps couldn’t enter during their tenures with their other teams who both had proven stars already. Well, maybe not so much with the Knicks, but you get what I am saying. Going to be an interesting season, hoping for a spot in the playoffs at least.

And as for those who think that no one would want to play for houston why not? unless it was howard or melo other stars wanted to go to houston like bynum and deron williams who had houston behind dallas in his trading destination while with utah. Houston is a great place to live, is the 4th largest market in the country, n has a young n upcoming team who is one solid all star player away from contending. Who wouldnt want to be with a team like that. To me howard and melo were just big babies who didnt want to be the one to stay to see their teams get build around them they wanted to be the players who are the ones being attracted to the corner stone players.

I think that its a better deal for the rockets. One thing is if harden is a starter easily can put 20 or 21 ppg cause mr. shot jacker russel westbrook isnt with him. For the 2 1st rounds we dont need to be younger. And okc gets someone who will take shots away from KD and russel westbrook as well as a prospect who could become the next reggie miller or a bust. And another thing even if houston signs harden to a max deal houston has enough money to sign a max deal in fa next summer and there are good pieces like paul millsap, al jefferson, josh smith, and even cp3 if he doesnt sign an extension. We may not get to the playoffs this year but get any of those players next year well be in the playoffs and may contend. And for those obsess about the draft picks houston still has their own 1st they had 3. And i dont know who okc can get in the draft that can impact them so much anyway they are young too.

As a Rockets fan I’m a little confused by this Trade and feel that Morey has had pressure on him since the Howard move didn’t come off, We have got Harden who is solid but not a Franchise player in my eyes and a bunch of journeyman jobbers who will most likely be waived like a lot of players on the Rockets roster already, We have him on max for one year and then offload him perhaps but all we are doiing is saving up cap room for a franchise that nobody is interested in coming too as we are no a challenger or even playoffs. Martin is past his best years i believe and it remains to be seen if he will last out with injury concerns but losing Lamb has that all to familiar feeling of letting a future scoring machine leave, anyone remember when we let Rudy Gay go for Battier? so it is a shame about him. We aren’t exactly looking after our future ability to be relevant in the draft either by giving away 2 first rounders. Seems to me like we gave way a lot for James Harden ostensibly as other than maybe Cook i don’t see any of the others making an impact. Our young team just got younger, perhaps a better defensive trade off with Harden and Martin but they have to be really considered similar on offence so no gain there, especially when Lamb looks as though he was going to contribute on offence as well. Lin, Harden, Delfino, Motijunas, Asik (Or something similar) hardly pulls up any trees. Sorry Morey but this one doesn’t work for me.

Bad move for OKC and possibly even worse for Rockets.
If I got it right now Houston Rockets have to reach a deal with Harden or he will den become RFA which means he could pretty much end anywhere…why do they(Rockets) think Harden would consider to play for a team that can’t reach playoffs after playing in the finals last year and having the possibility to end up in the contending team again with a wanted salary?

The Rockets get a top 3 shooting guard, by giving up an injury prone player, and a “potential” starting shooting guard. The first round picks will be worthless. The Thunder lose their 3rd best player. Honestly I don’t know how they could have made this trade. Even if Harden walks in next years free agency, so what. It at least gives them a legit chance to win a championship THIS YEAR. It reminds me so much of when the Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins after losing the Finals. This could of been their year to win it all. I know they think the future is bright, but you never know what could happen down the road. Making the finals is not a guarantee no matter who you have on your team, and by trading a player like Harden, your odds only decrease further. Kevin Martin is not nearly as talented as Harden. His ppg are similar, but his versatility and playmaking ability are inferior to JH. James Harden was able to dominate with Durant and Westbrook on the bench. He could lead the 2nd squad like noone else in the NBA. I feel bad for the loyal fans of OKC.

I think both teams mads aa good deal . There is no loser only winners in this transaction. From a personal point I know Durnan and Westbrook are going to miss the third muskateer but basetball a business. There both teams got better Martin will help settle down the youngster, Harden will help the rockets become a better team.But to say whom got the better of the deal both teams won. That why the GM”S get paid the big bucks. Again I think LIn Delfino ASik and two youngster patereson and peterson already the Rocket a good team.Do not bet that either team does not make the playoffs

Houston Rockets were always relevant. We’re about to be more relevant when we go to the playoffs… No first round exit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go all the way. The Rockets are going to beast this year!

As good as the Thunder were last year, they were at their best when Harden was their primary playmaker/ballhandler in the 4th quarter. Neither Maynor or Martin can duplicate what he did. If anything, OKC’s offensive/defensive balance gets significantly worse if they play Martin extended minutes. He’s a scorer who does little else and needs the ball in his hand to be effective, on a team with Durant and Westbrook. That’s not going to work.

And while Lamb is an interesting prospect, that’s all he is right now. A prospect.

So OKC now has one great player, one slightly-less-than-great player, a couple of overpaid defensive bigs who aren’t as great defensively as their reputation says, an aging scorer who can’t defend at all, and some nice role players that are either unproven or coming off injuries.

Harden is going to find it very hard to thrive in an offense where he’s the top dog. I don’t doubt he and Lin will make for an entertaining backcourt, but neither guy has shown in the past that he can handle the pressure of carrying a team.

Another stupid decision by my Rockets. Trading Lamb, Martin, and a second round pick for Harden. Oh wait, just to show how dumb we are, we’ll also give you 2 first rounders. We’ll just take Harden and whatever else you want to throw in. First we overpay for Lin, then Asik, now this trade. We got a younger Kevin Martin in the trade and not much else. Way to go, idiots

I feel you pain man. When I heard about this my heart dropped. it reminds me of back when we traded francis and mobley along with other key players for Tracy. we haven’t been in the playoff picture since. SMH

ho ho ho ho, dont speculate La fans theres too much talent at the west beat them first u knoe, regular seasons is not started u already see what will happened he he he ur a bright guy , dont too much complacent at ur team is not worth u have 3 all stars player and 1 Olympian this is done when malone and payton join laker…

if it was about the loot James, than jsut go find Ben Wallace’s phone # and ask him……SMH Kevin&Westbrook wouldve got u that other 5m! So i guess u will have a whole summer to figure it out, cuz yall anit making the payoffs (oops my bad the PLAyoffs)

May be good for the Rockets if he doesn’t become a drama, enough of a drama for the Rockets already with one of it’s rookies now wanting to hitchhike to games. Good for OKC with all of the future number 1’s they picked up and Lamb could really be a steal.

I think they still are good enough, getting harden back means trouble financially and will affect their future. With Martin added to OKC they have an outside scorer who can explode and change games. They have Sefalosha to defend prime guards and SF’s, they have Durant who last year’s playoff just defended Kobe in crucial minutes of games and proved that he can lock down a Kobe Bryant, but with Harden gone they lost one of their best play makers which can really affect their offense. I think it’s how they can adjust with the change up..

Regardless of how well Martin and Lamb will fit into OKC’s system, none of them can play defense, none of them can distribute the ball as well as Harden does in transition. Harden was more than just productivity off the bench for the Thunder. Despite his eclipse during last year’s finals, Harden was probably their 2nd best option down the stretch, ahead of RW. Most importantly, Harden functioned as an antidote for Westbrook’s erratic shooting.

OKC: this was the price they pay for giving the extension to Perkins. but it is still a good trade for the OKC. You can’t just give MAX CONTRACT to a guy who will play for you for the sixth man role. K.Mart can score, Lamb could play defense who can shoot the 3-ball and also could potentially replace Sefolosha at the starting 2-spot if he can be a legit defensive wing stopper. Add the potential of Perry Jones, then add the 1st round pick from Toronto, then they’re basically set up for the future and could re-amp their bench via draft picks. This was a win IMO since you can’t get equal parts in trading a star player in Harden. This was a better deal and got more than ORLANDO got from Howard. Almost the same win-deal when DENVER got in trading for CARMELO and UTAH got in trading for DERON WILLIAMS.

OKC: this was the price they pay for giving the extension to Perkins. but it is still a good trade for the OKC. You can’t just give MAX CONTRACT to a guy who will play for you for the sixth man role. K.Mart can score, Lamb could play defense who can shoot the 3-ball and also could potentially replace Sefolosha at the starting 2-spot if he can be a legit defensive wing stopper. Add the potential of Perry Jones, then add the 1st round pick from Toronto, then they’re basically set up for the future and could re-amp their bench via draft picks. This was a win IMO since you can’t get equal parts in trading a star player in Harden. This was a better deal and got more than ORLANDO got from Howard. Almost the same win-deal when DENVER got in trading for CARMELO and UTAH got in trading for DERON WILLIAMS.

Everyone in OKC Land that Harden will command a significant chunk of their salary cap so there it is.
They can still be competitive with Martin if he remains healthy and Lamb have lots of upside. For the Rockets, well they land a star but still not enough to make some noise in even in the southwest.

Kevin Martin is in the final year ($12 million) of his contract. Unless he is willing to take a huge cut in pay to stay with OKC, he will be traded (a very tradable player, most likely for a first round pick). This trade potentially saves OKC $30 Million in luxury tax and gives them Lamb (huge potential), the Torronto Lottery pick (4-14 in 2013 or 3-14 in 2014 or 2-14 in 2015), the Dallas pick and a 2nd rounder. They had to trade him if they didn’t want to pay the luxury tax (he would’ve been a restricted free agent and Houston would’ve given him a max deal and get him for nothing this Summer). It worked out for both teams. They are both likely to make more trades in the near future (Houston has 20 players and must get down to 15 by Monday and Martin most likely will be traded by February).

Martin is the only wash ..but then you have 2 first rounds and a second ..OKC got much deeper ..not to mention the return of cool hand luke Eric Maynor ..he’s all the pure point guard they need ..Durant is a Pippen away ..and he may already be on the roster ..naw but seriously great GM moves ..funny how Houston is stealing the hearts of other franchises ..3 for 3 in one off-season ..Knicks, Bulls, and now ..roll of the Thunder ..the West will cry ..and I already hear the tears

Good on OKC. Sam Presti knows what he’s doing.
Decent set of rookies, solid core team, capable scorers in KD and now K-Mart as well as Westbrook. Not forgetting that Ibaka has been working on a mid-range jumper. He’s also a solid defender and capable shot blocker, as with Perkins, he’s a good inside presence.
Perry Jones Looks to have a decent season, continuing to learn, as with Lamb.

With trading Harden, I don’t think OKC have lost anything.
As for the Rockets, well, I just don’t know about that team.

okc made agreat move. eric maynor will be the pg, harden was never a good pg more a sg, and id take a healthy martin over harden. harden will struggle bc he wont be getting open looks all day in houston like he was in okc.

I completely agree with you. and also he wont be playing the bench players of other teams. As a rockets fan i was prepared for our rebuilding process but we traded Lamb before we coul see what he could do.

With lin and harden the rockets proabably have one of the smartest backcourtd but at the sametime slowest backcourt. Neither really defends great. Both. Play a similar game which is tbe pick and roll. Lets see how this works out. Okc has a bright future but now is the time that russel and durant really tske their game to the next level.

This is a great trade for OKC. How it makes the Rockets relevant, I have no idea. A backcourt does not equal relevance. Maybe if Houston scored Collison is the deal……… I still wouldn’t agree. It’s Jeremy Lin running a PHX style offense to inexperienced and an undersized frontcourt. Ugh, I hope they are working a deal for Pau Gasol…………….

This is one of those rare balanced trades that benefits both teams. Kevin Martin is an excellent shooter who will get plenty of open looks if playing in the same line-up as Durant and Westbrook, while being more than capable of leading OKC’s offense if he replaces Durant at SF. I also believe he will more willing to re-sign with the Thunder at season’s end, as this is his first time playing with a true title contender. Meanwhile, Rockets suddenly recover from the fruitless sacrifices they made in their pursuit of Dwight Howard, and have a potent and unselfish backcourt that they can surround with pieces over the next few years. Only problem is that Lin and Harden are both distribute first players that will only shoot if completely open, meaning Harden may have to adjust his game to more of a shot creating “go-to” scorer to work in his new environment. Still, Houston is in a much better place than before the trade, while OKC avoids losing a star player for nothing a la Magic. Like I said, a win-win

Houston is in no way a better place before the trade. We got 3 bum players along with Harden by trading Our leading scorer and best rook prospect. and if you watched last year Jeremy Lin can put up points when needed. he wasn’t really the best distributer so that adds to the rockets. but when we don’t have anyone to shoot the ball. it’s a loss for the Rockets.

WOW is correct.Harden was a huge part of OKC’s success! But at least they traded him before season started. Harden could have easily had a bad year and OKC might not have gotten anything for him by the all-star break…

As a Laker fan I’ll take that any day, Harden was a big part of the scoring for OKC, dude was coming off the bench putting up 30 or more points, he’s Instant Offense and a good defender, we all know when healthy Kevin Martin can shoot but he can’t defend anything and Kobe will abuse him, Harden had size and quickness to match up well with Kobe but the OKC just made it easier for the Lakers and the rest of the West

It means Westbrook will have to step up and play D against the other teams best backcourt player. We know he can do it, look at the olympics, but now he needs to be a little more cautious with picking up silly fouls. The main problem they face will be when the second unit comes in. Will they be able to initiate the offense without Harden to lean on?

dude the lakers need somebody to come off the bench i dont see them doing nothing in the west nash is old are you serious a typical laker fan already crowning before the season starts you have to be a cowboy fan

I think okc is just gonna take that as well.
What they got NOW is still comparable to the lakers NOW, but for fighting them, they needed a guy like Ibaka (so they gave him a good contract 1,5 years ago) more than a 3rd scorer. Because the lakers are still about size, rather than bench play.

With Maynor back, k-Mart, a promising Rookie Lamb AND some picks okc made clear they stay a contender, but in the future will have more options again (again, because they once had jeff green a very variable and special player).

And even they loose in the 2nd round this time around, the west’s future still is all about okc.
Because every day the lakers and the spurs are getting slower, while okc gets more experienced :) lol

PS I’m disappointed in Harden not trying harder to stay. Money, fame, playtime, it seems to me it was to much of a egomaniac decision. Those kind of decisions aren’t always the right ones. I still wish him good luck, beeing the man on his team. Good move Houston, still no playoffs.

The Lakers wont be able to deal with Durant and Westbrook. They still wont be able to stop those two. The Lakers dont have anyone in their roster to guard Kevin Durant. And Westbrook will manhandle Nash and Steve Blake. In terms of the Thunder and Lakers matchup, the Thunder still has the upper hand. Age and the presence of Howard will slow down the Lakers this year, and the Thunder would still run them down.

This was horrible for OKC. Kevin martin has a similar game to Kevin Durant. Plus this means that westbrook has to play pure point which everyone knows he wont. Now OKC is a bunch of ifs like pj3 and jeremy lamb. They are gonna be really good, or not gonna get deep in the playoffs

lol, what you are implying is either they’ll be good or they’ll bad? Thanks for clearing that up!
Back to the trade, I think both did great.
Thunder obviously cannot keep harden after this year, either than losing him for nothing. They got a offensive SG in KMart and a good potential rook Jlamb.
Rockets got bunch of bench warmers and James harden.
win win IMO
My guess is OKC won’t lose a step in this trade and Rockets will still struggle.
Let the season starts!

they still have a solid pg in maynor. martin could and should come off the bench. and he doesn’t need to hold the ball for too long to be effective. he can catch and shoot. a back-up SF role for a rookie with tons of potential in lamb will be a positive thing for the okc. maynor, martin, lamb, jones, collison is not a bad second unit. Harden was the whole second unit for the okc last year. but now they have solid players in every positions with a good combination of youth and experience. it was a WIN-WIN

I think this trade is a win win for both teams, the Rockets got a potential star and OKC got Martin, when healthy is a really good player, and Lamb who has been compared to Reggie Miller and he is also a pretty decent playmaker like Harden. It is an upgrade for OKC, they get Martin and Lamb to play either one at SG or SF, before OKC had Harden at SG and Cook at SF, although Harden was good, Cook wasn’t anything special, Lamb is a promising rookie who has lots of talent, same goes for Perry Jones and Martin is still good.

OKC got KMart avgs 18pts and a primary scorer of Rockets at present with Jeremy Lamb who ranks #3 of the best potential rookie this season based on the Summer League statistics, PLUS 2 First round Draft Picks and 1 Second round Draft Picks. While Rockets only got James Harden and the 3 flops. Harden still needs to prove his worth based from the list of the past 6th man of the year winners: LOdom, LBarbosa, MMiller, BGordon & AJamison who didn’t played as great after they won as 6th man of the year. Which is why the OKC won this trade.

Make no mistake, Kevin Martin will be A LOT more valuable to the Thunder than he was to the Rockets, but the 18ppg that you mention are pretty much evened out by how terrible he is as a defender. He does not play like a fiery player at all and he will often go into disappearing acts (especially in the 4th). This won’t be a problem for him with the Thunder since he’ll be the third option on offense at best, but he’s definitely no star and by now he was already little more than a tradeable expiring contract for the Rockets. So for the Rockets it’s a matter of trading potential (Jeremy Lamb+Toronto’s pick) for a proven talent, someone they can finally plan for the future with. I say both teams won. OKC gets Martin to make up for some of the offense lost in the short term while Lamb develops for the long term, and they get a couple of picks. Houston finally gets a direction. Win-Win.